The Mark of a Good After Dinner Speaker
September 3rd, 2010Any type of event can be bettered if an after dinner speaker is invited to present. The after dinner speaker is the long time favourite of most event planners because of their wonderful ability to end events on high notes and ensure that attendees don’t forget the event.
An after dinner speaker may form part of the running order at corporate dinners, sports dinners or charity fundraising events, but wherever they feature, their aim is universal. The after dinner speaker aims to ensure the event is memorable and finishes on a positive note. They have varying degrees of success. There are some tell tale signs of a good after dinner speaker and it is a good idea to consider these when hiring one.
Even if the tone of the event is informative or educational, the after dinner speaker will not seek to lecture or bore their audience. Instead, experience will have taught the after dinner speaker to inform audiences using humour and light-heartedness. The speech might be motivational or thought-provoking, but never boring.
Experienced after dinner speakers will work together with event planners to make the most of the sound in the room. For example, an audience will feel more involved in a speech if they are able to see the speaker. As a result, many event organisers opt for cabaret-style seating.
Catching and keeping the audience’s attention and interest is vital to any good after dinner speaker. They may choose to use visual aids or humorous anecdotes to help with this. It is also helpful if the audience feels as though the speech has been written specifically for them. To this end, a good after dinner speaker will always make sure that their presentation is current by relating their topic to contemporary examples from recent news stories, for example.
Probably most important in the skills of an after dinner speaker is their ability always to end on a positive note. Even in the cases where subject matter of the presentation may have been less than happy, it is very important that there is a positive note to end on. An audience that leaves an event on a positive note will think highly of the event, making it a success.